User:Kaylinmpena/Women's Reproductive Rights in the Dominican Republic

50th and 52nd President, Leonel Fernández, who enacted the total abortion ban in the Dominican Republic

Women's reproductive rights in the Dominican Republic are very limited when it comes to the abortion ban that makes abortion illegal even when it comes to life threatening situations. There are several reasons why someone may seek to get an abortion. Some reasons being financial struggles, pregnancies as a product from rape, other children to care for, or unstable situations unfit to raise a child. Women in the Dominican Republic have some of the highest mortality rates in its region with 95 out of 100,000 women not surviving childbirth.

Abortion related complications account for around 8% of maternal deaths. The lack of women's reproductive rights in the Dominican Republic have led to high pregnancy related mortality rates.

Abortion laws and criminalization

Abortion in the Dominican Republic is illegal under all circumstances since September 18, 2009 under former president Leonel Fernández's presidency. Under article 37 of the Dominican Constitution, it reads "The right to life is inviolable from the moment of conception and until death".

Article 90 of the Penal Code makes makes it a crime for women to undergo abortions and for medical professionals to practice the procedure. Women and girls can face up to 2 years in prison for the death of the unborn fetus while medical professionals can face up to 20 years for doing the procedure.

The Catholic church has been a major influence in the country, influencing their beliefs and laws. Canon 1398 of the Catholic Church declares "a person who procures a completed abortion incurs a(n automatic) excommunication." While the Dominican Republic is a religiously free country, they are heavily dependent on catholic beliefs like Canon 1398 law. With this major impact on Dominican politics, the influence has moved on to the abortion ban.

Illegal abortions

Due to the criminalization of abortions, many pregnant people in the Dominican Republic tend to resort to other means of abortion in hopes of not getting arrested. These clandestine abortions put women at high risk of medical danger and even death. In 1992, nearly 16,500 women in the Dominican Republic were hospitalized following illegal abortion methods.

Dominican pro abortion protestors advocating to include the penal code to decriminalize abortion in three causes: 1. The product of rape or incest, 2. When the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother, and 3. Due to a malformation incompatible with life

Misoprostol became a major medication used by pregnant women who are seeking to perform illegal abortions. Misoprostol is an over the counter medication that was intended to prevent inflammatory and ulcers with high risks of pregnancy defects including miscarriages. This abortion method is constantly used in the Dominican Republic because of how easily assessable the medication is given the strict abortion ban.

Other common methods of unsafe abortion is with the use of a sharp object puncturing the amniotic sac, consuming toxic mixtures that induce poor health, or inducing physical trauma to themselves.

Dominican women seeking to get abortions in a safer manner tend to flee the country to countries where it is legal so they won't get penalized. Guyana, Cuba, and Barbados are some countries where abortion is legal in the Caribbean. More often than not, Dominican women will travel to countries like those to safely have an abortion without the fear of being arrested for it.

Health Risks from Denied Abortions

Women have faced many health risks, even death, when it comes to putting the unborn child over their own health. In Dominican Republic, women do not have the right to an abortion regardless if the life of the mother or child is endangered. This means that a pregnant women with health complications can not have an abortion that could potentially save her life.

A well known case of this in the Dominican Republic was in 2012 with a 16 year old girl named Esperancita who was denied cancer treatment because is would harm the fetus. Instead of having an abortion, medical professionals were forced to deny her any medical treatment, thus having her endure tremendous pains. This abortion ban then led to her death shortly after. This famous case sparked an uproar of pro life protesters fighting for the rights to abortions in major Dominican cities. There have been many scenarios where women who are in life threatening situations have been denied abortions just to abide by the abortion ban then leading to preventable deaths.

Reproductive Rights Advocates

The National Palace of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo

There are many non profit groups and organizations that are in opposition of the total abortion ban in the Dominican Republic who advocate for women's reproductive rights. Not only are dominicans fighting for reproductive rights, but there are also large numbers of people from the U.S. who are helping them in this fight. The United Nation and Inter-American Court of Human Rights have publicly announced their opposition of the total abortion ban, but that has not changed any beliefs from current president, Luis Abinader.

An ongoing movement known as "Las 3 Causales" is the fight for the Dominican government to include a penal code to decriminalize abortion in the three causes of a product from rape or incest, when pregnancy puts the mother's life in danger and fetal malformations of the fetus. In May of 2021, thousands of activist and advocates flooded the streets of Santo Domingo protesting for the 3 causes to get included in the penal code. Later that year in June, women's rights activists camped outside the National Palace in the Dominican Republic for 73 in hopes to get their voices heard regarding the ban.